Pages

Thursday, October 27, 2016

Belize Part 3 : Hidden Valley Inn

Happy Thursday everyone! Today I'm so excited to be sharing the next part of my trip to Belize. So far I've talked about our wedding, San Pedro, and the caves, so now it's time to talk about the rest of our trip. After spending the first three days in San Pedro, we spent the next six days at the Hidden Valley Inn in the Cayo District. I'll be talking about my experience there (which was incredible) and some things that we did. In my final post, I'll talk about the other excursions that we went on while we were staying at the HVI!

After we left San Pedro, we flew back to Belize City, then took a three hour drive to the Hidden Valley Inn. The roads were paved for the first hour, then it was all dirt roads the rest of the way. Our drivers the entire trip kept saying that this is our "free back massage" because the roads were so bumpy!

The Hidden Valley Inn is located in the Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve, and is very isolated. There are only six cottages on the property, each of which has two rooms. Also on the property is a large common area, which has a gift shop,
sitting area with games and a fireplace, bar, and dining area. There's also a pool with dining tables set up, which is where we ate by candle light every night!

The Inn sits on 7200 acres of private land with nearly 100 miles of trails. There is a full staff that maintains these trails, and Dan and I spent a lot of our free time exploring!

We got recommendations from the staff about some of the best hikes, and were sent off with a walkie-talkie in case we needed to be picked up. There were even a few trails that had picnic areas where you could request a lunch to be set up. We never did this, but it seems like a great idea. Our favorite trail was the Cascade Trail, which was so beautiful and a lot of fun (as long as you're not afraid of heights or shaky bridges!)

For some reason I feel like this wouldn't pass safety inspections in the US:

Every day had pretty much the same structure: Dan and I would wake up and head to the common area for breakfast (they had a buffet every morning along with a full menu you could order from). While we were eating, one of the employees would stop by to go over our itinerary with us for the day, and get our lunch order in case we needed something packed.

Then, we would head out for our trip of the day. We would get back in the afternoon, and grab something small to eat during tea time (or sometimes a drink at the bar) and chat with the other guests and employees. Everyone that was there was so nice and friendly, and it was always nice to hear their stories and about their adventures from the day.

After going on a hike or relaxing, we would get cleaned up and dressed for dinner. Walking out to the pool area always took my breath away, because there were millions of stars visible since the nearest city lights were no where in sight. We would sit outdoors by the pool and eat by candlelight, where we had a five course meal every night. There was always something different and amazing to eat!

The rooms themselves were beautiful! Dan and I usually stay at the cheapest hotels or hostels when we travel, but since this was our wedding/honeymoon, we decided to splurge. For the first three nights, we stayed in the regular rooms which were pretty standard:

Then, for the final three nights (which happened to be the days after we got married) we upgraded to the suite. They decorated everything with fresh flowers (seriously everything..they were even in the toilet) and wrote out Happy Honeymoon in the claw-foot tub!

There were also two very special features of the suite- an outdoor rock shower:

And a room full of hammocks. I spent a lot of time here, and even surprised Dan with massages in this room on our last full day at the Inn!

Honestly, I can't say enough about how amazing this trip was. The employees at the Hidden Valley Inn went way beyond my expectations to make sure we were always taken care of and felt special during the most important week of our lives. The Inn and Reserve were both incredibly gorgeous, and we had such an amazing and relaxing experience. If you're looking to go to Belize, you have got to stay here! (By the way- this post and our trip isn't sponsored or paid for in any way! Dan found this place after doing research, and we fell in love with it!)

this seriously looks like such an amazing place! lol @ the free back massage. i love how isolated it is, and the room looks great. how cool they decorated everything when you moved rooms! so cute! we went on our honeymoon in Vegas (i couldn't leave the country at the time lol and I love Vegas!) and they upgraded us to a penthouse suite which we thought was pretty nifty.

Seems like a really really terrible place... I will gladly martyr myself for those that are supposed to go to spare them. I love their attention to detail!We spent 3 nights each in London, Paris, and Rome :D

We went to Bali on our honeymoon and it was amazing! We also had lots of flowers and towel swans each time we stayed somewhere new - and at one place we stayed at they would make a heart of flower petals around our table at dinner each night, haha!